


Counting Down

by bouncyscreamingnewsboys



Series: Newsies [2]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, everyone hates me for this, im so sorry, unedited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-11 23:14:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15326526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bouncyscreamingnewsboys/pseuds/bouncyscreamingnewsboys
Summary: soulmate aueveryone has a timer on their wrist that counts down to when you meet your soulmateeveryone has a date and time on their other wrist of when they die.tw for death, blood, knives





	Counting Down

Everyone had the timers on their wrists. A few rare people had none, and even a smaller amount of people had two. Albert just had his one, counting off seconds going down the drain.   
The number on it had been getting increasingly smaller. Smaller, and smaller, and even smaller still. The current number was 3 hours, and any odd number of minutes and seconds. None of his friends had timers that matched up with, nor even within the friend group, save Jack and Davey.   
As it had been getting smaller and smaller, Albert’s heart had begun sinking when he looked at the other wrist. This one had a number on it, one that stayed constant throughout his life. The day where he would die. It had the date of the night he would meet his soulmate,  
Wandering through the streets of New York, he was anxious and scared. It was his last day alive, and he would only have a few hours with his soulmate, 3 or 4 at most. He was going to meet Crutchie at a Subway, who wanted to introduce him to two friends of his. He still had a couple of hours to kill, so he spent them well, going to art museums and places in the city where he had never gone before.   
Another glance at the timer. 15 minutes and the Subway was almost all the way across town. Choosing to run instead of hailing a cab, he sprinted across the city, out of breath when he bumped into two guys and his timer reached zero. The two men were sent back, both of theirs reaching zero at one point during the meeting.   
Albert offered his hand to the blond, pulling him up and taking a glance at the clock. 0. He grinned. The man grinned back, looking at Albert’s clock. Together they watched the brunet, a complete stranger, dust himself off and walk away.   
Albert dragged the blonde into the nearest resturant, a coffee shop, and took a seat by the window. They introduced themselves and talked for a while before it started getting dark.  
As Albert had learned, his soulmates name was Anthony Higgins, who usually goes by Racetrack or Race. He was 25 and had lived in New York for 13 years, his previous country of residence made clear with a thick Irish accent. The man wasn’t bad looking, a light strawberry blond with strikingly handsome blue eyes.   
Race had invited Albert to his apartment for a drink and to get to know each other, as they’d be spending the rest of their lives together, however short that would be, Albert had failed to mention.   
He agreed and the pair walked to Race’s penthouse together among the bright lights and loud noises of the city, arm in arm, hand in hand, talking merrily.   
They slipped into Race’s apartment, already attached at the lips. It felt right to Albert. He had had a few kisses now and then in his highschool years, but this was with his soulmate. It was right, the universe had put him and Race together in this moment.   
They settled down on the couch and turned Netflix, unanimously agreeing to watch Can’t Buy Me Love. Albert had lost all thought in his mind about the number on his wrist that stayed still. The pair was content, Race leaning his head on Albert’s shoulder and Albert’s arms wrapped around his waist.   
Halfway through the movie, they paused it. Race had to go to the bathroom and Albert wanted popcorn. He stood there, listening to the microwave and texting Jack while the man he trusted crept up behind him. Albert saw the cold of silver glint in the air.  
A sharp pain ran through his veins as he staggered forward, backwards, forwards and collapsing. Red seeped from his stomach and for a minute, he didn’t even realize it was his own. On his back, he saw the attacker. The blond stood over him, knife in had, a scary smile on his face.   
Albert couldn’t bear to look at him and his gaze fell to the right, landing on his wrist. His vision dulled, though the image of that glaring number still clear as day in his head. The blood pooled around him and he began to fade away.   
This life which he had loved so dearly was over, and so was his short time with Race. But maybe, he had picked the wrong man.


End file.
